stray dogs, oswald chambers, and truth. huh?

How could stray dogs and oswald chambers suddenly collide in my mind, you might ask... stick with me and i think you might find yourself agreeing that the 2 quotes i'll share below are strikingly complementary. Or you might not, which is fine too...just humor me ;)

The year has been pretty busy. Totally blessed, but busy. Lots of plates spinning, lots to pray through, lots of follow-up to do, lots of stuff i don't particularly consider myself "gifted" at, and some things i just don't enjoy doing. Yet I'm called to faithfulness with all those things. It seems that as we grow in our relationship with God and in maturity the Lord entrusts more to us. We can read of that principle in Matthew 25 in the parable of the talents where those servants who were faithful to their master were rewarded..."Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!" That last portion of the master's encouragement sometimes gets me...sometimes being in "charge" of many things doesn't automatically equate to happiness. The NASB translates that into "enter into the joy of your master." Sure I can recognize the blessing in being entrusted different things, but doesn't it seem that sometimes our ministry responsibilities can burden us and become heavy instead of bringing us continual "happiness"? Perhaps i'm alone in that sentiment, but somehow I don't think i am. There have been times already this year when the "burden" seems more than I can bear. Deadlines, prudent time management, decisions to be made, even coordination of meetings can sometimes get me.

Enter stray dogs and Oswald Chambers.

2 quotes. one long, one short. Read em if you have a minute...both good, good stuff. I'll throw in a few thoughts at the end and then get off my soapbox, i promise :)

number one...
From Oswald Chambers "My Utmost for His Highest", January 23rd...

"And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness." 2Cor 3:18

The outstanding characteristic of a Christian is this unveiled frankness before God so that the life becomes a mirror for other lives. By being filled with the Spirit we are transformed, and by beholding we become mirrors. You always know when a man has been beholding the glory of the Lord, you feel in your inner spirit that he is the mirror of the Lord's own character. Beware of anything which would sully that mirror in you; it is nearly always a good thing, the good that is not the best.

The golden rule for your life and mine is this concentrated keeping of the life open towards God. Let everything else - work, clothes, food, everything on earth - go by the board, saving that one thing. The rush of other things always tends to obscure this concentration on God. We have to maintain ourselves in the place of beholding, keeping the life absolutely spiritual all through. Let other things come and go as they may, let other people criticize as they will, but never allow anything to obscure the life that is hid in Christ with God. Never be hurried out of the relationship of abiding in Him. It is the one thing that is apt to fluctuate but it ought not to. The severest discipline of a Christian's life is to learn how to keep reflecting "the Lord's glory."

~Oswald Chambers, emphasis mine

number two...

"Being in ministry is a lot like being a stray dog at a whistler's convention."

vikki's thoughts...Fast. Ministry, or even life in general is full of high-speed everything. microwaves, high-speed internet, express lanes, you get the picture. fast is the key word, especially here in america. Loud. Life is loud these days...lots coming at us from a gazillion different directions - some important, most not at all. Distracting. I sit down at my computer with a purpose in mind and sign on to Firefox. Suddenly I can find myself "checking out" or being entranced by 70 other things. An hour later I find that original task still not done. Who do I listen to? How do I slow down? Do I even have time to slow down? How do I tune out those other sounds?

I could be that stray dog - pulled in every direction, not knowing whose whistle to follow, unsure if I have a master and if I do, where is he? Which whistle is his?

The answer, I believe, is in what Mr. Chambers shared..."Never be hurried out of the relationship of abiding in Him."

"Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing..." John 15:4-5

As life hurries us along and all those whistles sail our way, we must remember to abide in him; to forsake the good and look to Him for what is best. Remember Jesus' words to Martha in Luke 10: "Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her." In the midst of the busyness, in the midst of our school, work, and ministry responsibilities that "good part" remains the same...sitting at His feet, abiding in Him, learning from and loving on Him. Our service to God is not His ultimate desire; it is to be the outflow of a heart aligned with His. His ultimate desire, i believe, is for us to be wholly His, unrestrained, with reckless abandon in our devotion to Him and Him alone.

My prayer for all of us is that unlike that stray dog, we'd pick out our Master's whistle amidst the chaos, follow His voice, meet with Him, find our home in His arms alone, and then have our ministry be the natural overflow of a heart linked with His. Then, I believe, we will be much more able to "enter into our master's joy" when we are entrusted with more than we think we can handle. To paraphrase our brother Mark at Faithwalkers, it is a misnomer to say that God won't give us more than we can handle. Sure He will. But He won't give us more than HE can handle. "I am the vine...you are the branches."